Unless you've been living under a rock in the blogging world, you've heard about blogger Josi Denise and her recent meltdown over mommy blogging. While most bloggers were inclined to be offended by her post, I have to admit that I found a lot of truth in it. No, I'm not slagging off mommy bloggers, but I related regards to my own blogging journey.
I find recently, while I love blogging and writing, sometimes blogging in general seems vacuous and silly. I changed my policies on receiving free products to review, and even though I've only received a few recently, I do have to wonder if Josi is right. Does anyone care about my review of this random hair care product? Do I even care about it?
It's not to say that I don't want to work with brands anymore, I still do on a selectively basis and am always happy to do so if we reach an agreement that meets both of our needs. However, between finishing my thesis, working and doing more YouTube videos than I have before, it seems less and less appealing to write a review of a product I'm not super excited about without any compensation at all. I realize a lot of people feel that receiving a product in itself is compensation, and it is fantastic, but after a while, I can't pretend like it doesn't become burdensome. Is three hours worth of work for a product that cost £7 at the shop really worth it? And does anyone really care what I think anyway?
In the end, bloggers end up with a stockpile of stuff that eventually never gets used or gets given away or donated because we can't possibly use up everything we've got. And to be honest, that makes me feel a bit guilty since companies often went out of their way to give me things.
And is all of our content the same? Are we only reading each other's blogs to promote our own? It is a worthwhile question to ask yourself.
While I still want to blog and vlog, I'm pondering the direction that this blog will be going in in the future. I will definitely still talk about beauty products and continue to work with some PR and brands, but otherwise I'm not sure where we'll be going with this blog.
Will it become vegan? I don't know. Will I continue with beauty products, fashion and travel as I'm able? Absolutely. But excuse the less frequent updates as I overall and re-think.
NOTE TO PR AND BRANDS: YES! I AM STILL PR AND BRAND FRIENDLY, HOWEVER I AM BEING QUITE SELECTIVE THESE DAYS. IT DOESN'T MEAN DON'T PROPOSE SOMETHING TO ME! IT JUST MEANS I WON'T AUTOMATICALLY SAY YES TO EVERYTHING!
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I feel exactly the same, if I think about it too much it just seems pointless and pushy. But I like doing it so I guess I will keep doing it, great post. You have managed to eloquently write what I have been thinking and feeling for the past few months.
ReplyDeleteALittleKiran | Bloglovin
Ah, I am so glad other bloggers feel the same way. Well, not glad that people feel confused and a bit overwhelmed, but at least we're all in a similar boat. xx
DeleteTotally with you! My blog has never been big enough that I was getting swamped with requests from companies, but as someone who is trying to be more intentional and minimalist in what I buy, it seems kind of wrong to be halfheartedly promoting things I probably would never have bought on my own. I do enjoy reading reviews for things though, as long as the reviewer is honest about what does and doesn't work with the product and I've bought books or beauty supplies and such on the recommendation of bloggers.
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